Free Run Run as Fast as You Can by Willow Rose Page A

have been?"
    "Anger, jealousy, because she wanted to leave him? They had a fight? You name it. The man is a police officer, for crying out loud. Those are the worst. Just look at Officer Dan. Remember him?"
    "How could I forget?" I mumbled and thought about him for a second. Talk about misjudging persons and a true psychopath. "But we can hardly suspect all in the police force just because there was one rotten egg."
    "True. But still. I'm telling you. Someone shot this woman and he is out there somewhere."
    If only it was the husband , I thought to myself and wondered for a second about the missing plumber. Then at least he wouldn't kill anyone else.
    I stared at Alma who had grabbed on to my chair and was now lifting herself up to stand on two legs. I looked at Sophia.
    "She does that all the time now. In a few weeks, she will be walking. Then I'll have to get to work, you know. Constantly chasing her around. When is it again they move away from home?"
    "How should I know? Mine are still here," I said chuckling.
    Sophia smiled, then laughed. "They say one day we will sit in our empty houses and look back at this moment and wish for it back. I don't know about that." Sophia laughed again.
    "I have a date," I suddenly said.
    Sophia lit up. "Really? Who?"
    "Officer Bredballe."
    Sophia rolled her eyes. "Finally. That took some time huh?"
    I shrugged. "I don't know. We have been through a lot together."
    "When is it?"
    "Tomorrow night."
    "Oh, we're in a hurry then," Sophia said.
    "In a hurry to do what?"
    "Get you ready. You need a new dress, we need your hair fixed and those nails won't do either."
    I scoffed. "You must be kidding. Morten isn't into stuff like that."
    "Men always say they aren't but they really like it afterwards. We'll make you pretty. Come on. Indulge me here. I need this."
    "You've got to be kidding me," I said. "I don't have time. I have to write my book, remember?"
    "You have plenty of time. You already have two bestsellers, there is no rush with the next one. You have earned plenty of money on the first two."
    I frowned. "I really don't want to …"
    "Come on. At least go with me to the hairdresser tomorrow morning. The entire mothers’ group has planned to go. They have this place where they take care of your baby while they fix your hair. It's new. Please come with me, please? I so badly want to introduce you to my group."
    I exhaled deeply. "Alright then. But just the hairdresser."
    "And a new dress," Sophia said.
    "Okay. Hair and dress. But no nails. I can't stand getting my nails done."
    "Promise," Sophia said. "Cross my heart and hope to die, stick a needle in my eye."
    "Don't say that. I don't like that saying. Why would anyone hope to die? And what's with that needle?"
    Sophia rolled her eyes at me again. "Alright, Mrs. Cumbersome. I'll just cross my heart then."
    "Good."
     

22
    November 2013
    S USANNE'S HEAD WAS hurting badly. The smell was still in her nostrils. She opened her eyes, but saw nothing but darkness. She held a hand to her head, trying hard to remember what had happened. The parking lot. She had been in the parking lot and had just put Malthe in his car seat, yes that was it. Susanne opened her eyes widely.
    Malthe? Where is he?
    In the darkness, Susanne tried to stand up straight but her head hit against something and she ducked down. Then she fumbled forward across what felt like newspapers on the floor. What was this place?
    Susanne tried hard to remember. She had opened the door to her car when someone had approached her. Yes, that was right. Some guy had come up to her. She knew him from somewhere, she had seen him before. Yes in the café. That was right. He had been in there looking at her and her friends. Where were they now? She had said goodbye to them. Then the guy had come up to her asking her for directions to the post office. He had held a map in his hands. Susanne had thought he was a tourist. She had pointed the direction to him and shown him on the map. He had